Ditcher



March 3, 1931.

Filed May 15, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l 9 @Rowe/sp,-

DIT'CHER Sheets-Sheet 2 J. C. MCCLURKIN Filed May 13, 1929 March 3, 19,31,

k, ma www m w llllfwll o ,o \o 1V m. w E Ei I a H11- u n- F- 1.5m. l- 1 o lL QN Jv N SS x, NN Sw Patented Maes, 1931 u UNITED STATES- JOHN o. Mccnunxm, or LAKKIN, `'Kansas nITcHrin Application filed May 13, .1929. Serial N0. 362,697.;

rlhis invention is a ditcher of the A type,

and one object of the invention ris to provide a novel means whereby a mold board and a land side may 'be swung transversely, or ad- 6 justed, 'about a longitudinal axis lying between Lthe upper and'lower edges of the mold boa-rd or the upper and lower edges of `-the land side. Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means whereby the Inold 10 boardmay be swung up and down, and be moved forwardly or backwardly, as occasion may require. Y

The invention aimsto provide a ditcher of c the class described which willlcause the dirt '15 to be shed off the mold board, it being possible for the operator to put the forward end f of the mold board up and down into the earth to the desired depth. The invention aims to provide a ditcher which will regulate the dirt as it is push'edupY the'slope of a ditch by the mold board. Y A further'objectof the invention is to supply a ditcher in which the mold board may be so adjusted that the ditcher will clean all the dirt out of the bot- 25 tom ofthe ditch. I f

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance'the utility of devices of that type to whichthe in vention appertains. c

With the foregoing and other objects in View, which will appear as thedescription proceeds,-the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes may be made in theprecise embodiment of the invention, within the scope ofwhat is claimed, without ydeparting from the'spirit of the invention. Y f In the accompanyingrcdrawings:-, Figures 1 shows in top plan, a device constructed in, accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation wherein parts are broken away j v l i Figure 3 is a rear end elevation ;V Figure 4is a *sectionv on the line 4-4 of FigureV 1. f Y l The device forming the subject matterfof this applicationvcomprises a land side and a mold board. -These elements, in the draw--k ings, have been shown flat for thel sake of simplicity,butit will be understoodthat thev mold board and-the land side may be concaved'transversely, that being a common construction land one which the'manufacturer 55 Aber-'dis secured to vtheinner surface rof the land side' 1, below theupper angle member 4 in parallel relationfthereto.- The 'members 65 4 and 5 'are connected-'by Va Yvertical inwardly extended'bracket 6, shown best'in'Figure 3 of thedrawings. f f f The numeral l 7*'designates', generally, a guide frame, VthespeeificV construction of '70 which will v"be gone into hereinafter. The guide'fraine 7 Vat its forward end is lpivotally connected 'at 8 to the forwardend ofthe land side 1', the forward end of the guide frame being connected to the'forward end ofthe 75 land side by a draft hitch 9,vwhichmayv be constructed'as desired n* l Y As tothe specificconstruction of the guidey frame-'7, it may be said that the'guideframe includes an upper bar l0 anda lower bar l1, 80 thev guideframe being-.disposed at an acute angle to the land sidel. Theibars 10%11 of the guide frame are connected at intervals l by'ties 12,- so as to make a rigid construction. .a

The bars `'lO- 11 of the guide frame 7 are 85 connected by va bracket 14, seen in'Figures 4 and 1, and compleinental tothe bracket 6 Of the landr side.,r J y n c V'Referring to Figure 3, there shownan v'upper cross piecey 15', an intermediatecross 90' piece 16, and a'lower cross piece 17. f Above thevupper cross piece 15 is located va segment i' 18'.y Pivot elements "'19, connect the upper j cross piece 15 and the ysegment V18 at their'ends with the bracket 6 of theland side 1 and with 95 the bracket 14 of the guide frame 7. Pivot elements 20fc0nn'eet the intermediate cross piece 16 at its ends withl the brackets 6 and 14. Pivot elements 21 connect lower cross piece "17 at its yendsv with the brackets 6 and 14. A 100 lever 22 is provided, and carries a latch mech'- anism 23 adapted to cooperate with the segment 18. The lever 22 is fulcrumed intermediate its ends, at 24, upon the intermediate cross piece 16. The lever 22 is pivoted at 2 5 to the upper cross piece 15, and the lever 1s pivoted at 26 to the lower cross piece 17.

A slide v27, Figure 4, is tongue-andgrooved into the loars and 11 of the guide frame 7 for right line sliding movement lengthwise of the guide frame, the slide 27 loeing a bar of considerable length, as Figure 1 will show. On the inner edge of the slide 27 there is a rack 28. Y

A mold board 29 cooperates with the land side 1. A, share 30 is removably secured at 31 to the lower portion ofthe mold looard Intermediate its ends,the m-old board 29- is connected ley a pivot element 32 with the slide 27, for vertical swinging adjustment, theV pivot element 8 2being located nearer to the rear end of the mold board than to the forward end,v this detail loeing shown'ln Figure 2. In order to hold the forward end of the mold looard 29 against swinging outwardly, transversely of the draft line,the s lide'27 1s provided near to its Vforward endv with a headedfstud V33 whieh'slides, inan arcuate guide 34 (Figures 1 and 4) attaehedto the inner surface ofthe mold board 29, the con-l struction being such that the forward end of the mold hoard can llieadjusted up and'down, and, at the same time, the forward end ofthe mold board will loe kept connected with the forward end of the slide 27. Y e

The means for raising and lowering the forward end Vof the mold board 29 shows most clearly in Figure 2. It comprises a lever 37 fulcrumed intermediate its ends at on a segment carried loy the upper har 10 of the guide frame 7 The upper end of a link 38 is Vpivoted to the forward end of the lever 37 and the lower endof the linltis pivoted to the forward portionV of the mold'board 29. The lever 37 has al latch mechanism 381 adapted to cooperate with the seginent. l

Aineans is provided for moving the slide 27 andthe mold hoard 29 lengthwise, for adjustment, at the will of an operator. Having this construction in mind, a hearing 40 is secured to the guide frame 7 on the inner Side thereof, as showninFig'urel, andthis hearing a vertical shaft 41 (Figure 2),is journaled, the shaft 41 beingv provided at its upper end with a hand wheel 42,7or something of the kind, whereby Van operator canrotate the shaft at will. A pinion V48 (Figure 1) is secured to the lower end lof the shaft V41 and meshes with the rack 28 on the slide 27.

The drawings show a ditcher guide, designated generally by the numeral. 44. The ditcher guide will notV bedescrilied in much detail, because it forms .the subject matter of` `my co-pending application No. 394,557', filed on the 'ithday of September, 1928. Let

.laterally out of the ditch,.the governed supplyof dirt being permitted to slip under the mold 1board, and the amount of dirt that the mold board scrapes out of the ditch being regulated to suit the user. l/Vith this short description, the diteher guide, claimed in my co-pending application above referred to, may loe dismissed from further consideration. K Y

As to the operation of the device in the case at liar, first consider Figure 3: from which it is evident that the lever 22 may be swung either to theright or to the left, and he heldin adjusted position loy engaging the latch mechanism 23 withthe segment 18. The lever22 .is pivotally connected at 25 with the upper cross piece 15, at 24 Awith the intermediate cross piece 1G, and at 26 with the lower cross piece 17. rllhe cross piece `15 is pivotally connected at 19 (indirectly) withthe mold hoard 29 and with the land side 1, the intermediate cross piece 16 having a cor' responding pivotal connection' 2O `with the mold board `and the land side, andthe cross piece 17 being correspondingly vpivoted at 21 to the moldlooard and the land side. rlhe construction is suchV thatby shifting the lever 22, the operator can swing either the mold hoardj29 or the land side 1 transversely in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows A of Figure 4,al out an axis-,disposed intermediate the upper-and loweredges of the mold boarda'nd intermediate the upper and lower edges of the landv side. This construction aics in shedding the dirt olf the mold board and in regulating the amount of dirt that is moved out of the ditch.

By swingingthe lever 37 up and dowin the forward end of the mold hoard 29 can be raised and lowered attlie will'of an foperator, the lever 37 being Vpivotally connected by. means ofthe link 3.0 Vwith the forward end of the mold hoard, the mold hoard being pivoted at 32 to the slide 27 Vfor vertical swinging movement. ables the operator .td-regulate amount that the point of theunold board-digs into the ground. y A i The operator can turn theshaft41 by means of the hand wheel44, andthe pinion 43 on the shaft 41, cooperating with tl'ieracl; 28- on the slide 27, will move the slide 27 forwardly and hacliwardly, themold hoard 29 vpai'- ticfipating in thisV movement, because the mold hoard i-s connected1 at 32and at 33-34with rllhis construction, eni `land side anda mold board disposed at an angle to each other, and means for swinging the land side and the mold board transversely in opposite directions about longitudinal axes lying intermediate the upper and lower edges of the land sideand intermediate the upper and lower edges of the mold board.

2. A ditcher of the A type comprising a land side, a guide frame pivoted at is forward end to theforward end of the land side, a slide mounted in the guide frame for right line sliding movement with respect to the line ot advance of the ditcher, a moldboard attached to the slide, a rack on the slide, a shaft under the control of an operator and journaled on the guide frame, anda pinion f on the shaft and meshing with the rack.

3. A ditcher ofthe Al typecomprising a land side, a guide frame connected at its forward end to the forward end of the land side, a slide mo-unted in the guide frame for right line adjustment with respectto the line of advance of the ditcher,` a mold board, means for pivotally connecting the mold board to the slide for vertical vswinging adjustment, and means for imparting vertical swinging adjustment to the mold board. o j

1l. A ditcher of the Atype comprising a land side, a guide frame pivoted at its fors ward end to the forward end'of the land side, a slide mounted in the guide frame for right line movement with respect to the line ot advance of the ditcher, a mold board,

. means for pivotally connecting the mold board to the slide Yfor vertical swinging adjustment, means for imparting vertical swinging adjustment to the mold board,

means for imparting right line movement to angle to each other, means for swinging the land side and the mold board transversely in opposite directions about longitudinal axes lying intermediate the lower and upper edges of the land sidek and intermediate the upper and lower edges of the mold bo-ard, and said' means comprising connections pivoted r at their ends tothe mold board and to theV land side, a lever pivoted to the connections, and ymeans for holding the lever in adjusted positions. v

G. A ditcher of the A-type comprisinga land side and a mold board disposed at an angle to each other, means for vswinging the land side and the mold board transversely in opposite directions about longitudinal axis lying intermediate the upper and lower edges ot' the land side 'and intermediate the upper v and lower edges of the mold board and said comprising connectionspivoted at theirends to the mold board and to the land side, a lever pivoted to the connections, a segment pivoted to the mold board and to the land side, and supplementing the connections as a brace between the mold board and the land side, and

a latch mechanism carried by the lever and cooperating with the segment.

I testimony that I claim the lforegoing as 

